This is a letter I wrote to the editors of The Economist. It is in response to the article Do social media threaten democracy?
To The Editors of The Economist,
Recognizing the magnitude of the problems introduced in a hyper-connected world has been put off for far too long by lawmakers. We know revolutions seldom bring a new dawn without negative side effects. As you noted in your piece, the digital revolution has proven to be no different. Growing up as a student during the lurching period of change, I have felt the problems of the so called 'attention economy' bubbling under the surface for quite some time.
Many of these firms have dodged blame by sticking to the label 'technology platform' as a synonym for 'unbiased'. They take advantage of their relative newness to circumvent regulation and maintain unfettered access to one of their main sources of revenue, unbridled attention. But it doesn't take a Ph.D. to know these platforms are biased and influence the way we think and act (in some ways more powerfully than traditional media). And because it will be economically disadvantageous, only through legislation and social pressure will tangible change be acted upon. Better to know our culprit and act than be ignorant of his designs.